Caught in snatch act

Pramod being taken to Kotwali thana in Ranchi on Friday. (Hardeep Singh)

An alert crowd nabbed two snatchers at Albert Ekka Chowk in the heart of the capital on Friday.

The two Chhattisgarh residents, who were released from Raigarh jail in December 2013, were caught when they were trying to flee on a bike after snatching Rs 20,000 from a woman, Basanti Verman.

Pramod Nath (40) and Vijay Nath (39) hail from Pathargaon, about 350km from Ranchi, in Kapu police station area of Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh.

Verman, a resident of Sector III of HEC Township in Dhurwa who registered an FIR at Kotwali police station, narrated the sequence of events that led to the duo’s arrest.

“After withdrawing Rs 20,000 from the SN Ganguly Road branch of Punjab National Bank, I reached Bharat Medical near Durga Bati to purchase medicine,” said Verman, a retired employee of a security agency at Radhe Shyam Lane.

Vijay pounced on her, grabbed the bag containing the cash tucked under her right arm while Pramod waited outside the shop. “Medical store employee Ranjeet Kumar raised an alarm. Passers-by realised what had happened and gave the duo on bike a chase,” Verman added.

The rider lost control of the two-wheeler and collided with another bike at Albert Ekka Chowk. The crowd caught Vijay with the booty. Pramod tried to escape again, but was nabbed 400m away near Hanuman Temple at Tharpakhana.

Kotwali officer-in-charge Arwind Kumar Sinha said the arrested had criminal records in Chhattisgarh.